Potato harvester



Jan. 24, 1933. G, GAILUS 1,895,157

POTATO HARVESTER Filed May 1l, 1931 Patented Jan. 24, 1933 f l1,895,15i-'1N GEORGE GAILUS, FA STILLWATER, MINNESOTA y ro'rA'ro`HAR'vEsfrisiR Application led May 11,4 1931. Y Serial No. 536,343.

Y My invention relates to anV improvement in harvesting machines, of thetype particular-` ly adapted for harvesting potatoes. My cont structionembodies a combination of elements which coeoperate to produce a potatodigger of a simple and effective nature.

Whilel am aware that potato digging machines have been producedheretofore, some i of which employ a scoop and a rotary separator, Ibelieve my construction includes` novel features which are valuableadditions to the art, and which acttogether to provide a more eiiicientpotato harvester than has heretofore been produced. f It is the objectof my invention to provide a potato digging `machine lwhich will unearththe potatoes, separate the dirt and vines from the same, and depositthem in a receptac-le.

ing orV marketing without the necessity of handling or sacking.'V i u Itis a feature of my invention that the plow or scoop which'is used to'dig the potatoes from theground isdivided into two separate parts,leaving anV open space between.

' these twoparts through which vinesiand roots may pass, but which isnot sulliciently` Y wide to allow the potatoes to drop. Accordingly, thevines and rootswithin the scoop are separated to a large degree in thescoop, thevines being guided by the rounded edges of the double scoop orplow to pass between the two partsthereof and the upward in- 5 oline ofthe scoop guiding the potatoes'into the rotary separator. Thisconstruction eliminates much of the usual mechanism necessary forseparating the vines and roots fromV the potatoes; i l

It is a feature of'my invention to provide a chain or Vbelt equippedwith a number of prongs or teeth spaced at= intervals interposed betweenthe scoop and the rotary sepaf rator for thepurpose offraking Vaway anyloose foliage. vines or foreign matter from the mouth of the rotaryseparator, and to prevent `such material from entering the separator.This eliminates a llargeportion' of the separating necessaryq and theseparator needs only separate the dirt and soil from i In this mannerthe potatoes being. 2 harvested may be prepared directlyfor'storspecification: Y y

illustrates a .side elevationn view D My potato' the potatoes, as verylittle loose Vmaterialsuch as vines and roots is allowed to enter thesepa?.-

rator.V i

a AIt is an added feature of my invention to` provide a pair of smallwheels, one of which 5 is mounted on each side of the. scoop or rplow.

These, wheels are held under spring tension to ride upon the surfaceofthelground,v and act topress down theyinesand foliage along the side ofthe scoop t0 prevent this material from being'fpicked yup by the scoop.,The vines on either'side of the scoop are pressed down by lthesewheelsout ofthe pathofthe scoop andlrotary.separator,and are held by them asthe earth is dug up `around the pota-1 toes, separatingthegearthfromfthe vine-s.` These wheels'are found in actual practicetoaccomplish this result in' aevery practical manner, and in combinationvwith `the ldouble frusto-conical front roller which lattens out 7iaddition to the art'. j v

the vines along the ground'i's a very valuable;

, Itis the purpose of my v pockets at'the rear end of the conveyorswith-V toes pass automatically and` which i elevate the invention toform y v in the rotarvseparator-into which the pom-7.5?

potatoes to deposit the same infva trough'.downl i which the potatoesVmayipass to bev` sacked. The elevation afforded bythe pocketsissuicient to permit the potatoes to drop directly from` the troughinto' a sack `or containercarried at the rear of the harvester.

Otherobiects and novel features of myin vention will kbe moreclearlypand fully, set

claims. l v

forth in; the following specification and' 8,5

,In the drawing forming 'a' part` ofV this l Figure 1 of my potatoharvester; .4, y y l Figure y2 is a top plan view of my ,potato`harvester. Y l Figurel V3 is a cross-sectional'view ony the linesofFigure-Q.

G'Figure 4 is adetail'view of a portion'of 9 harvester, illustratingvoneofthe pockets'at the rear' end of theconveyorfor elevating the potatoes.*1 V, Y harvester A. is adapted to be pulled along the row of potatoesby anysuitable means. The Weight of the harvester is` supported by apair of rear Wheels 10 and a front roller 11. "The rear Wheels 1() aremounted upon an axle 12 passing through suitable bearings 13 on the rearportion 14 of the frame. A pair of spaced side members K' 15 eXtendfrom'the rear end of .thedigger toward 'the front of vthe same, and are benttol converge toward one another. Between the spaced front ends oftheside members V15, the front portion 16 of the frame isfposiytioned,pivotallyv connected to the side mem-V bers 1-5k at 17. The frontportion 16. of the frame is connected at one end to a pivot pin 18 whichis mountedupon a yoke 19 forming the support for the ends of theaXle 2O'upon .which 'the ffront roller ll-is positioned. The other end of theVfront portion 16 of the frame 2. is'secured by means vofthe link 22-tothelever 23; Byoperating the handle lever23, the

front Vportion r16 of the framemay,bewpivoted; with relation lto therear portionV 14 of theV frame, to'r'aise orflovver the center oftheframe' andthe vparts `associated therewith.

Thejhandle lever 23 lis held in adjusted posi- Vvtion by means of a gearsegment 24 on'the Y frame and a paWl or dog on the lever 23 operated bymea-nsof a handrelease 25,. n

`Suspended i bke-tween the side members 1'5 of the rear Yportionl 14ofthe frame, I vposition v the lrotary separator'26. :This separatorv26comprises a double bladed spiral conveyor 27 mounted upon a shaft 28,and enclosedjbya Y plurality of longitudinally extending paral-l lelbars 29 held in positio-n by'means ofhoops 30. The bars 29 Vof`thiscagellike enclosure are spaced apart rsul'iiciently toy permit dirtj' or soil to dropbetween the same, but'vvill prey event potatoes vfrom'dropping out'of the sepa-v rator; 'The'ends o'fthe shaft '28 aresupported in-suitable bearings upon the crosslmembers i 32 and 33', anda lbevel-gear 34 is mounted Y against turningupon the lshaft 28inengagement withr asimilar complementary bevel gear y3'5`on the reara-Xle`12vvhich is rotated by'one of the rearl Wheels 10." Thus as theharvester A is pulled along 'the ground, VVthe rotation yof the krearWheels' 10 acts to revolve the rotary separator '26'on-itsshaft 28.

On the front lend ofthe shaft 28 is provideda gear 36 which rotates agearf'by means of an idlegear'38 .englagingboth of the gears 36 and 37.VThe shajftf39 ofthe gear 37 extends throughAa/bea'r'ing and operates asprocket 40. A chain 42 operates between the sprocket 40 anda sprocket43 mounted upon a spring arm 44A on the Vsfide member 15 of 'the'frame"Teeth or fingers 45 on the chain 42 act as a rake to Vpull the vinesVand loose foliage away Yfrom `theopen 'end' of theiro'tary separator16, and to one lsidep-of the digger. :The springfarnisupport`44 keepsthe chainy 42 *taut4 at all times.

J'The actuated 'scoop or divided plow 4611's secured tok both sides ofthe frame 15and is Y of a particular design adapted toV dig the potatoesand separate the same Yfrom the I ing actuated sides, and is split inthecenter to provide an opening between the tWo sides vines. The scoop 46is trough shaped,hav 1 of the same. Accordingly, the vines and rootsrneednot becut off by the scoop, but-may be forced inwardly vby thecurvedA edge of the divided scoop to pass through the space be tvveenthesides of the scoop, and beneath the l rotary separator.Y

vOn either side of the scoop 46 l' providea Wheel 47 which is secured toa pivoted rod 4.8 and forceddoavnwardly in contact With the surfaceofthe ground by means of a` coil sprng49; The-.positionifrom Whiclrtherod 48 ymay pivot may A'loe adjusted byzinserting thebent end `oft-herodthrough one or another of the holesiin the attaching plate 50 mountedadjacent the-sidezof the scoop. The

Wheels' roll over that portion 4of the vinesV tainer resting' upon i aplatform V55r suspended frointhe rear end ofthe frame, I provide. :a

pocket 56 secured toeach of theblades ofthe conveyor 27 at `theendthereof.V VVhenet-he potatoes are kconveyed tothe Vend of thoro-ktary separator `26 .bythe conveyor 27, they Wiil become lodgedinonecfthe pocketsv 56,-'

Wheretherotationof the separator 2.6 will Vact fito drop the. potatoesinto the *troughV 53,

Where 'they' will roll bygravity iin-to .th-.e sac-k .I have vfound myypotato harvester very v practicaliin digging-up potatoes and :forcingthem into the rotaryy separator f or `squirrel cage receiver forthe`potatoes. Thel scoop 46'is'spaced'from thefop'e-n front ofthe separato-rslightly, but notsufiiciently 'to permit any cf Ythe potatoes to,droptherebetween; The rotation ofthe separator .acts toV separate thedirt and soil from the -potatoe'syand Yto IH) l elevate'themsuiliciently tofpermit them to be Y' sacked.

tering theA separator, and togetherwviththe action-of vthe Wheels 4701ieither side'oft'he sooo-p46 and the ral-:ing action ofthe teeth l havefound my' design of scoop 1s Avery effective 1npreventingrvines'from-enfor fingersli, forms a'combinationfof:parts lwhich practically eliminates the f'entry of vines or foliage from theseparator.

In order that-the potato rdiggerA may. turn corners With a minimum ofease,I di#V vide the front roller 11 in the center,.fermi ingvvoseparate truncatedfcones .mountedy upon-the aXl'e'20. Thejrollerfof thisvdesign rolls over-thev 'rows ofpotatoeswliich are in turning corners,oneof the ends of the roller l1 may turn faster than the other end Vasthis end travels an arc of greater radius.

n accordance with Vthe` patent statutes, l have described the arinciplesof operation of my potato digger or harvester, and while IV haveendeavored to set forthy the best em-` bodiment thereof, I desire tohave it understood that this is only illustrative of a means of carryingout my invention, and that 'ob-. vious changes may be made withinthescope of the following claims without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

l claim:

wheels supporting said frame,.a rotary separator mounted upon saidframe, gear means Vfor driving said separator from one of said wheels,means for digging potatoes and introducing them into said separator, apair teY of sprockets transversely aligned on a vertical plane, a chainon said sprockets interposed between said digging means and said,

separator and prongs on` said chain for eXe tracting the vines andfoliage from the earth and potatoes passing into said separator.

A potato digger including, a frame,

`wheels supporting said frame, a rotary separator upon said frame drivenby one of said wheels, a scoop for digging potatoes and introducing thesaine into said separator,

sprocket and chain means on a vertical plane extending. transverselybetweenrsaid separator and said scoop, "and fingers on said chain torake foliage and vines away fromV the separator., v

y '3. A potato digger including, a frame, wheels supporting said frame,a rotary sep# arator upon said frame driven by one of said wheels, ascoop for digging potatoes and introducing the saine into saidseparator,

chain and vsprocket, means driven by said separator transversely acrossthe front of said separator, and fingers on said chain to rake the vinesand foliage passing from said scoop toward said separator transverselyout of the path thereof. y

il. A potato harvester including, a separator for separating soil fromVpotatoes, a scoop for digging said potatoes and introducing the sameinto said separator, pivoted arms mounted on either side of said scoop,wheels pivotally mounted to the free ends of said arms, and spring meansfor holding said wheels normally in contact with the surface of theearth in the operation of said harvester.

5; A potato harvester including, a framel comp4x1 1g -two pivoted partsadjgustaby hingV cO'et to Vraise and lower thecentei eef, a scoop and arotary ser ed upon Vsaidframe and adapted raised and lowered withsa-idframe,

arm-s pivoted upon either side ofl said scoop `oieration of saidharvester. l. A potato digger including, a frame,-

vsaid harvester.

wheels `secured to said'fpivoted arms, and spring means for holding saidwheels in contact" with the surface of the earth when said scoop is inlowered position.

divided plow for elevating the vegetables outl V'ZO G; A vegetable rootharvester including, a

of the ground, the vinesbeing permitted tol pass between-said dividedplow, means carried oneitherjside of said plow for holding' Vthe vinesand foliage downfagainst the a vsquirrel cage receiver for the vegef-cludnig a spiral conveyingmeans,

d for rot-ating said cage to carry the vegeta les to theback end thereofin the4v a 1'ongitudinal slot kbetween the same, springvk r Vler wheelssupported on either side of said.A plow, squirrel cage receivingconveyor for the vegetables Vdirectly back and closely adjacent to saidplow, a frame suspended centrally over said rollerat the front of` saidh.4 rvester and extending back over said plow along either side thereofand along the sidesy .of said squirrel cage conveyor, axle and wheelmeans for vsupporting the rear end ofsaid frame, and means for rotatingsaid squirrel agie conveyor by said wheels,k at the rear of 8. Avegetable harvester including, a lon-V e'itudinal frame the'forward endsof which w E: L 7 Y cont-*erge together to a central point, roller saidframe being pivotally supported: on said yoke, spaced apart wheels forsupporting the4 back of said frame, a squirrelcage conveyor having aspiral conveying element' therein rotatably mounted between the sides ofsaid, frame' and extending longitudinally therewith, an arcuated dividedlifting plow forwardly disposed adjacent said squirrel cage conveyor,and said squirrel cage conveyor being operated-by said wheel meansatt-he rear of said frame. f

A vegetable harvester including, a squirrel cage conveyor having aspiralconveying means therein to carry the vegetables from the front towardthe back of said conveyor, shaking the dirt off of the same, an arcuatedplow' positioned at thefrontj of said cage con- Aveyor. to carryV thevegetables out of the 1 means adaptedto' support a frame Lyoke eX-Vtending foverthe same, the forward end ofv of said cage conveyor, and' aframe suspended from saidV front roller to said wheelsv at the rear andadapted to' support said 'plowthereiso.

on, Asaid wheels `rota-ting," said cage conveyor.,

110. Avegetabie harvester including, a longit-dinaiiy disposed' frameformed with paiaileily extending `side members, a for- Wad portionformed on said Vframeconverg-l .mq' together to a single point, abearingroller ,keying means 'for lfifitten-ing the .foliage andv adopted tosupport the front end lof said izune .a common point Virtually'centrally disposed 'Y1 relation to said Toller, a, Vegefer uiting saidyplow to raise and oe sam@ said plow having a longitudi- Lal slot in thebottom thereof and havablesquirifei cage conveyor yhaving a spiralemfejfing eiemen t ,therein to Carry the vegetfahiesfto the backthereof, real' Wheels i'oi` SU ate said ce'oe conveyor.

GEORGE GAILUS.

1,1395; ifa-7 'ting plow hung from said frame,

mg ggiugxpeiiited yends projecting toward the front andon,eithersidethereof, a, rotatoi'tng said framefand Vadapted'to oper-r`

